


The Natural Dignity of Cats

by extremelyperturbed



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 12:02:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13612977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/extremelyperturbed/pseuds/extremelyperturbed
Summary: Just a drabble about Otabek & Yuri hanging out.  It's set after the series.





	The Natural Dignity of Cats

"I'm glad grandpa liked you," said Yuri as they sat together on the train. He had introduced Otabek to him during a lunch his grandfather had prepared in his apartment. His grandfather, upon seeing Yuri flash a thumbs up at someone on TV, had insisted on breaking bread with him once he found out who it was. Yuri had wanted to go to a restaurant but the old man had insisted on cooking for them. He knew his grandfather wanted to observe Otabek on familiar turf. Besides piroshkis, he had also made tea sweetened with a little jam, vegetable soup and syrniki, fried quark pancakes drizzled with honey. After asking some questions regarding what Otabek planned after skating, his grandfather seemed to enjoy the serious thoughtfulness of Yuri's new friend.

"I like him, too," said Otabek. "He's a great cook and he really knows ice skating."

"He should. He watches as many as the competitions as he can."

"My father is proud of me but he still doesn't know the difference between an axel and a flip."

"That's lazy," scoffed Yuri but then upon realizing that he was dissing Otabek's father, he said, "I"m sorry but they're so different."

"I showed him but there's only so much one can do. Everybody else in the family gets it."

Yuri felt relieved that Otabek didn't seem angry about it. "Now there's only one more introduction I have to make."

"Yakov?" 

"Hardly. You've already met him. Also, he can call the shots about what I do on the ice but I don't care about his opinions about who I hang out with. It's Potya, my cat."

A flash of recognition crossed hisf ace. "I saw a picture of you and him on one of your media accounts."

"He's not exactly friendly. He won't scratch or bite you but he tends to hide."

"Perhaps I should have gotten some boxes and catnip."

"You shouldn't have to bribe him to like you. Have you ever had a pet?"

"My parents love their garden too much to allow one. I did ask for one a few times but they said that since I would be busy training it didn't make sense to waste the money."

"Harsh."

"Will Lilia be at the house?"

"I don't think so. She's been working with Yakov a lot lately. They've gotten a bit mellow around each other pretty recently. I don't mean that they're going to get back together. They don't talk about the breakup but I heard it was pretty fierce at the time." 

"She probably thinks I'm a distraction."

"I promised to work hard and win. I didn't promise to be a cloistered nun."

"I'm having a hard time imagining Yakov ever being romantic."

"Oh, barf, now I'm going to have to use brain bleach." Yuri made retching noises.

Otabek smiled a little. "I should come up with even more bleach worthy images."

"I'll get Potya to piss in your shoes if you do." 

***  
Yuri walked into the house. He saw Potya sitting near the window in a sunny patch of light. "Potya."

Potya ran over and rubbed himself against Yuri's leg. Otabek squatted down and held out one hand. Potya looked startled, then affronted and ran down the hallway. "Too soon, I suppose."

"It took him a little while to get used to Victor. Even now, he hides from Lilia."

"I've got an idea." Otabek took off his coat and unbuttoning his shirt.

"What are you doing?" said Yuri. Is he strip teasing for the cat?

Otabek took off his undershirt and held it out to Yuri.

"What am I supposed to do with that?" said Yuri as he took it from Otabek.

Otabek began putting his shirt back on. "I was thinking you could put it in a box near a place he likes to go. He could get used to my scent and maybe he won't hide from me the next time I visit."

The next time he visits, thought Yuri. He took a whiff of the shirt and it did smell of Otabek. He noticed that Otabek had a little smile on his face. This made him feel terribly embarrassed so he said, "Oh, yeah, it reeks of you." 

He turned to look for a box and found an empty one that had once held a present from a fan. "It'll be hard to explain to Lilia if she notices but I'll try it out." He put the shirt in the box. "You really don't have to get any toys for him. I get a ton from my fans. Some of it is ridiculous."

"LIke what?"

Yuri scoffed. "Hats that look like fruit, scarves, clothes. He's not a baby or a doll."

"It's undignified."

"Precisely," said Yuri. No wonder we're friends, he thought. You get things without me having to go into insanely long detailed explanations. "The catnip mice aren't horrible but I'm not interested in a constantly stoned pet. I've got enough laser pointers to make my own Death Star."

"I get it."

"I'll be right back." Taking the box, Yuri went to his room and put it just inside his room. He could see Potya under the bed. 

He went back to Otabek and said, "Want to watch a movie or play video games?"

"Got a video game where we can both play?"

"Yeah."

***

"Otabek Altin?"

Both of them turned to see Lilia standing behind them. She didn't look angry, just surprised.

Otabek looked at the clock. "I should go."

Yuri scowled at her. "What are you talking about? It's only seven. Stay for dinner. We'll just make more rice or something."

Otabek shook his head. "I promised my sister I'd call her tonight. The calls tend to go for more than an hour because she insists on telling me everything in detail. I didn't call her last week so I can't skip this week."

"So you want to hang out next Saturday?" said Yuri as Otabek got up.

"Sure. When should I pick you up?"

"Eleven-thirty."

After Otabek left, Lilia said, "I actually don't mind him visiting here. Though you shouldn't be inviting people at the last minute for dinner when we don't have enough meat." 

***

After dinner, he went to his room and saw that Potya was sleeping inside the box lined with Otabek's undershirt. He couldn't help but smile.

The End


End file.
